‘SpongeBob Squarepants’ creator Stephen Hillenburg has died of ALS. He was 57

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/27/spongebob-squarepants.html

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I got word of this a few hours ago and i’m just so sad he’s passed away but incredibly grateful for all the laughs and joy his work brought me and my friends. Seriously, Sponge Bob is such a mainstay in my life and is so damn funny. I see it referenced and brought up regularly

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Too young!!!

Rest in peace, Steve.

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spongebob-made-it-with-tears

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Jesus, life is short. R.I.P. Stephen, thanks for all the laughs.

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I just learned that the creator of Spongebob Squarepants went to Humboldt State. That makes a lot of sense.

Godspeed, good sir!

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Very sad to hear this… I feel like I wore my sombrero in a goofy fashion.

My wife and I have been fans of his since Rocko’s Modern Life. His jokes and creations have literally shaped my adult life, and our lives together.

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Maybe we’re just young and we won’t know 'til we’re old
Too young to free ourselves from this lonely fish bowl

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Twas but a lad.

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As if this horrible disease couldn’t get any worse, we get this news.

If there is an afterlife I’m sure he’ll be welcome aboard the Flying Dutchman’s ship. This sequence where he gives Spongebob and Patrick three wishes still makes me laugh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pthr3t9KxCc

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Stephen Hillenburg made the world a more fun place to be in.

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This is sad. I had no idea who or what a SpongeBob at it’s early peak. I was on a trip and for some reason I was doing my “barking snail” hand puppet. A woman in the front of the bus said, “Do you watch SpongeBob?” “What’s SpongeBob?” To witch a group of people, all from different countries all sung the intro song. It was ended with, “Don’t look at me like that, I taught at a camp all summer.” Then someone said, “Why would you be embarrassed to sing the song?”

My mother loves the show. My sister loves the show. Both a former landlord and separately a ex’s mother called him “Spongie Sponge”. Beyond seeing well anthropomorphized aquatic creatures (especially the benthic ones) it is the kind of show that I hope continues to entertain and teach how to deal with social and emotional complexities. That all said, my youngest starts to cry, but my youngest also dislikes anything frenetic.

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Just to demonstrate the sheer awesomeness of Spongebob, the voice of Mr. Krabs, Spongebob’s employer is none other than The Kurgan himself, Clancy Goddamn Brown!!!

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I was at CalArts with Steve back in the '90s in the ‘experimental animation department’. He was such an amazing talent and such a warm and giving person. I will miss him terribly. His film “Wormholes” is, in my estimation, one of the best animated shorts ever made. Find a way to see it.

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Many memories with my kids. My dad will always be remembered as “doing the Grumpy Squidward!” “Everyone in the world is an idiot but me!”

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I never got into it. It was around the time I aged out of most Nick shows it came out. (I could never get into “The Amanda Show” or Dan Schedier’s weird shit. Clarissa would eat both for breakfast then gone back to quoting Marx

I regret I never gave it a chance. In retrospect, I was an edgy teen and not in a good way. I’m glad as an adult I can enjoy stuff like Adventure Time, and I hope Spongebob comes to Netflix soon so I can enjoy it without depriving his estate of income it deserves.

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Don’t beat yourself up; there is no good way to be an edgy teen.

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I didn’t quite care for it when it initially came out but i had a younger brother and it’d be on in the background and i eventually got sucked into it. Do not regret it because its super funny and clever, but had it been up to me i likely would have never given it a chance.

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So sorry for your loss! His work brought joy to millions, though, so hopefully that’s a comfort.

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